Cabbage Pasta With Garlic Parmesan (Printable)

Caramelized cabbage meets pasta with garlic and Parmesan for a comforting Italian-inspired weeknight meal.

# What You Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz spaghetti or linguine
02 - Salt for boiling water

→ Vegetables

03 - 1 medium head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
04 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
05 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

→ Aromatics and Flavor

06 - 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
07 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
08 - 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
09 - 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Finish

10 - 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
11 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 - Zest of 1 lemon

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.
02 - While pasta cooks, heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced cabbage and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12 to 15 minutes until golden, caramelized, and tender.
03 - Add garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant but not browned.
04 - Add cooked pasta to the skillet with cabbage. Toss everything together, adding reserved pasta water as needed to achieve desired sauce consistency.
05 - Stir in Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt or pepper as needed.
06 - Serve immediately, garnished with parsley and lemon zest if desired, with extra Parmesan cheese on the side.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Cabbage transforms into something sweet and caramelized, not the boiled vegetable you might be avoiding.
  • The whole thing comes together in under 40 minutes, which means weeknight dinner without the stress.
  • Four basic ingredients do the heavy lifting, letting the pasta water and Parmesan create a silky sauce that feels more luxurious than it has any right to be.
02 -
  • Don't rush the cabbage caramelization step; if you crank the heat up, it steams instead of browning, and you lose all that deep flavor and sweetness that makes this dish special.
  • Fresh grated Parmesan melts smoothly into the pasta, but pre-grated cheese with anti-caking agents gets clumpy and grainy, so take the 30 seconds to grate it yourself.
03 -
  • If your pasta looks clumpy after mixing with the cabbage, add pasta water in small splashes rather than pouring it all at once; you want a loose, flowing consistency, not a soup.
  • Grate your Parmesan just before cooking, because it oxidizes slightly and loses some of its sharp, bright flavor over time once exposed to air.
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